Top critical review

Probably their most disliked album, this was hugely controversial at the time as it is a serious departure from earlier Queen releases.

Gone are the multi-tracked instruments and operatic vocals replaced with synthesisers, leaving an album of 2 halves.

The first side (on the original vinyl release) is in what the band termed "the funk style" and it is not particularly well done and sounds like a rock band out of their comfort zone.It is such a departure from the usual queen sound that you will either like or loathe it.

The second side is better and it sounds like the band tried to counteract the first side with some ballads and traditional rock. There are some half decent tracks here in particular "las palabras de amor" and "life is real" although "cool cat" (back to the "funk style and sung entirely in falsetto) is widely dislikedYou also get the full version of the classic "Under Pressure" that doesn't include the clumsy edit seen on "Greatest Hits 2".

The album has the same dated sound quality as "The Game". This is not something I can quite put my finger and I suspect it is due to the recording equipment used in the studio. That said, the 2011 remaster improves things and is significantly better than the previous release.The style (in particular the first side) takes you right back to the late 70's/early 80's and there is a lot of synths from that era as well. This adds to the overall dated sound of this album.

Apart from containing the B-Side "Soul Brother", the bonus disc is pretty pointless (a remix and some live tracks).

Hot Space is not a great queen album, however it certainly stands out and I quite like some of the tracks on it

Whether you think it is a bad album is down to personal taste and those who are new to queen and acquiring all their studio albums should probably make this their second to last purchase (get the Flash Gordon soundtrack last).

There was a problem loading the comments at the moment. Please try again later.

Probably their most disliked album, this was hugely controversial at the time as it is a serious departure from earlier Queen releases.

Gone are the multi-tracked instruments and operatic vocals replaced with synthesisers, leaving an album of 2 halves.

The first side (on the original vinyl release) is in what the band termed "the funk style" and it is not particularly well done and sounds like a rock band out of their comfort zone.It is such a departure from the usual queen sound that you will either like or loathe it.

The second side is better and it sounds like the band tried to counteract the first side with some ballads and traditional rock. There are some half decent tracks here in particular "las palabras de amor" and "life is real" although "cool cat" (back to the "funk style and sung entirely in falsetto) is widely dislikedYou also get the full version of the classic "Under Pressure" that doesn't include the clumsy edit seen on "Greatest Hits 2".

The album has the same dated sound quality as "The Game". This is not something I can quite put my finger and I suspect it is due to the recording equipment used in the studio. That said, the 2011 remaster improves things and is significantly better than the previous release.The style (in particular the first side) takes you right back to the late 70's/early 80's and there is a lot of synths from that era as well. This adds to the overall dated sound of this album.

Apart from containing the B-Side "Soul Brother", the bonus disc is pretty pointless (a remix and some live tracks).

Hot Space is not a great queen album, however it certainly stands out and I quite like some of the tracks on it

Whether you think it is a bad album is down to personal taste and those who are new to queen and acquiring all their studio albums should probably make this their second to last purchase (get the Flash Gordon soundtrack last).

There was a problem loading the comments at the moment. Please try again later.

DISC 1 (The Album)OK, it's not typical Queen. OK, it's not aged well. OK, Roger and Brian (in particular) are now openly honest about the tensions this album caused within the band when Freddie was pushing for a certain 'sound'... BUT, have those who dismissed this album truly explored all it has to offer? The lyrics and delivery of "Life is Real" by Freddie could easily slot into any other Queen album and "Las Palabras de Amor" is my all time personal favourite Queen song and it deserved to do better in the charts and sadly gets lost amongst the pop/funk/dance that clearly dominates the album. Even so, each track has something to offer Queen fans old and new and the album is still a diverse blend of the four talents of Messrs Deacon, May, Mercury and Taylor. The majority of the album has a mix of songs that were a major departure but gave Queen the space to experiment with sounds that would later come together much stronger in "The Works" for example when the stresses and tensions pushed the band even further creatively.

DISC 2 (The EP)The purpose of the 2011 'Deluxe Editions' (putting all cynical marketing, profit-making, blood-from-a-stone comments to one side) is to give a bonus 'EP' of rare or previously unreleased tracks which compliment the original album. So we get a b-side, an a-side remix and three live tracks. Wow. Perhaps there is not too much in the vaults from this period of Queen's life but it certainly would have been nice to get the extended versions of Back Chat and Staying Power which are quite difficult to get hold of and exist only on 12" vinyl singles (officially). The inclusion of live tracks actually from around the time of the album (rather than much later and out of context) is certainly welcome though, as that is not always the case in this series.

There was a problem loading the comments at the moment. Please try again later.

I will never understeand why so much Queen fans hate this album. I know it was a dissapointing album when it was released back in 1982, but for me, this is one of my most favourite albums from Queen. I know half of the album is not a typical Queen music, but still it's much better than most of the songs that are being produced in modern times.